for Bassoon

May Song (2001) for solo bassoon was written and is dedicated to Myra Mayman on the occasion of her retirement as director of Harvard University’s Office for the Arts. The opening ten note gesture is drawn from the letters of her name—the entire rest of the piece is derived from those pitches and gestures. At about the mid-way point, the second half of the piece becomes a version of the first half with the various gestures re-ordered and re-conceived.